


For A Diamond Is A Marveled Thing, The Extraneous Companion Guide

by aenor_llelo, Alderous, BattleBlaze, Falrisesi, InvaluableOracle, Jaybird314



Series: For A Diamond Is A Marveled Thing [33]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Authors' Commentary, Codes & Ciphers, Concept Art, FADIAMT, Gen, Height Charts, Meta, OMAKES, Official art, character design
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:08:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 98
Words: 8,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23454565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aenor_llelo/pseuds/aenor_llelo, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alderous/pseuds/Alderous, https://archiveofourown.org/users/BattleBlaze/pseuds/BattleBlaze, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Falrisesi/pseuds/Falrisesi, https://archiveofourown.org/users/InvaluableOracle/pseuds/InvaluableOracle, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jaybird314/pseuds/Jaybird314
Summary: A companion piece to the fic seriesFor A Diamond Is A Marveled Thing. Meta and fanart abound. It is not necessary to view this companion in order to read the fic series, though itisnecessary to read the series in order to understand anything in this guide.
Series: For A Diamond Is A Marveled Thing [33]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1604959
Comments: 570
Kudos: 741





	1. Meta- Sten and Vendan, Named

I first thought of Sten and Vendan about the instant I saw _Change Your Mind_. Steven's a fusion! How fucking wild!

And then it never came up again, because, y'know, the series was over. And when _Future_ was coming out, and we were getting all the Pink Mode Steven teasers, I thought Steven being a fusion was going to be something they brought up again, but it didn't work out like that. Not criticizing the choice, I love the story they chose to tell, but still. The implications were too good for me to resist, and so I created Sten and Vendan.

I wanted Connie to be the one who names them because- it's Connie. She was the one who was _there_ when it happened, who has always been there for him. Steven being split was damn traumatic, it's not something he's going to want to think about. So Connie is the one who goes "holy shit, you're two actual people in there" and goes through that effort to name them, to person them. Which, she might not have realized at the time, but that was something Steven really needed to hear. That was something he really needed.

So, name meanings! Because i'm a nerd who looks up name meanings, and Connie definitely is too. Even if she didn't quite get the implications of what she was about to do, it wasn't something she was going to take lightly.

_Sten._ Scandinavian male name, meaning _stone._ Because he's the solid, grounded part of Steven. Very tethered to reality, to mortality. He's fragile, he's emotional, he's attached to earthly matters like death and empathy. It was also canonically confirmed that the reason Steven is so powerful, powerful enough to take on White Diamond, is his human capacity to change. Without Sten, Steven wouldn't be near as powerful as he is. He's also, to put it very cruelly, Rose/Pink Diamond's gravestone.

**Vendan.** Both in Indian Sanskrit and Tamil, meaning _emperor_. It's his gem that signifies Steven's birthright, his power, his legacy. He also has a very strong personality, very I Will Do This And So It Shall Be. He's territorial, he's possessive- but he treats his "possessions" with the highest respect, and for this version of Steven, that's the root of his deep kindness. Everything belongs to him, everything is his responsibility, everything is his to protect, everything is his to care for.

Sten gets a name that's almost Steven, but not quite. Because at that time, Sten was the bulk of Steven's physical appearance. Then suddenly he's weak, feeble, delirious with single-minded desperation.

Vendan gets the Tamil name, a name from Connie's culture. I think he left the bigger, _grander_ , impression on her, that's for certain.

Also, because I think I'm funny- (Ste)n and (Ven)dan. (Ste)(Ven). Steven.

-Aenor


	2. Art- Sten and Vendan, Adult

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you stare really hard, you can see Sten has diamond pupils too.  
> -Aenor


	3. Meta- Asteria Diamond

Steven Universe, known to the world as Asteria Diamond.

A regnal name is a formal name used by rulers when they take the throne, which may differ from their birth name. In this case, Steven uses the name Asteria Diamond in all formal capacities. Most Gems and humans must address him as _Asteria Diamond_ , or the appropriate Gem honorifics such as _My Diamond_ or _Your Radiance_.

Legally, the name and identity of Steven Universe does not exist, and never has. (Which may also be true in canon- Steven canonically lacks a social security number, which is the kind of thing that usually comes package deal with a birth certificate in the US.)

Asteria Diamond is his work name, and as far as the rest of the universe(ha) is concerned, his legal name.

I chose not to give Steven a color name because, in actuality, pink diamonds are kind of Not Colored. You fucking heard me.

With most colored diamonds, color is due to impurities and inclusions (presence of other minerals) within the stone. With pink diamonds, this is not the case. There are pink diamonds that are completely flawless and clear. It is unknown what causes pink diamonds, though one prevailing theory is that seismic shock occurring during formation may alter it's structure.

Also the color pink technically doesn't exist. Look up "pink doesn't exist" on google and get back to me on that.

So, Asteria.

_Asterism_ in gemology is the property of an _asteria_ (star stone) is the property of certain gemstones displaying star-like concentrations of reflected or refracted light when cut into a cabachon shape. It is usually the result of inclusions or structural flaws within a gem, but in this case it is a flaw that _increases_ its value rather than decreasing it. Where being different makes something have more worth.

In astronomy (god, the urge to type astrology), _asterism_ is any known pattern or group of stars. There is an asterism called the Great Diamond.

But what about Steven?

Well, obviously, he still goes by Steven. He still considers Steven his "true name" so to speak. Or rather, his truest self. But now, after everything he's been through, all the eons of memory he now possesses, he's decided not to let just anyone have the right to say it. The right to his true name, his truest self, is a privilege he no longer bestows lightly.

-Aenor


	4. Art- Onion, Vaguely Aged

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha i imagine he manifested a full beard at like thirteen
> 
> i yoinked his clothing palette from teen!steven and sour creams palettes.  
> -Aenor


	5. Art- Bust Of Asteria Diamond, Of Balanced Mind, Adult.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I did rather well for his eyes.  
> -Aenor


	6. Art- Tāmarai

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Asteria Diamond's flagship.  
> -Aenor


	7. Illustrated Meta- Asteria Diamond, Body And Wardrobe

Here's a nice little picture of our sweet lovely Sugar Cotton Man (classic!Steven for scale):

(A baby. My God. Look at them. He could punt his mini-me like American football.)

As you can see, he's grown quite a bit. His body type has filled out in a very Topaz fashion, and a bit like the various Diamond Mode Stevens we saw in the end of SU:F, which is a happy coincidence. _Diamond Drop_ , the earliest fic where I laid out Asteria Diamond's adult appearance, was written before the end of SU:F (For newer readers- although _Country Warps, Take Me Home_ is listed earlier in the series, and takes place earlier chronologically, it was _written_ later, after the end of SU:F). Steven during SU:F was canonically listed at around 5'6", and this adult Steven shown here has grown a bit over half a foot more, clocking in at a vague 6 foot something. He's taller than Steve Rogers and (barely) shorter than Thor, between 6'1" and 6'3".

(Yes, this does mean Connie is _at least_ 6'3". I know what I'm about. Tall Connie Rights.)

In comparison to other Gems, he is now taller than Pearl and slightly shorter than Garnet, actually being pretty close to Bismuth's height and body type (though he doesn't have the same level of Yaoi Hands **(TM)** as Bismuth). He's about shoulder height to his Jasper, and within the upper average height range of a normal Quartz, which was a very sudden, frantic realization I had, just now, as I was typing this. He's... _so, so large..._ literally broader than humanly natural... I can't even imagine having to share space with such a being. No wonder everyone is Fear On Main of this man. He could snap bones like candy sticks.

He's probably very Soft. He looks very soft. Though there's definitely that, uh, I Fight Barehanded For Fun In The Woods And Punch Trees On A Weekly Basis kind of muscle under there.

As said in the fics themselves, his body coloration is an inversion of Lion and Lars' palette- or rather, and inversion of Pink Diamond's palette. His clothes palette is also drawn from Pink Diamond's, adjusted to actually suit his body type (because, sweetie, pink is your color, but Pink Diamond's clothes are certainly not.)

Look at him. Like a tiger. Or a bear. Connie, love, you married an actual tiger.

-Aenor


	8. Art- Dog

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dog is good, okay  
> -Aenor


	9. Illustrated Meta- Re: Gem Teeth

Now, the concept of gems having fangs is not one that I can claim any credit for- there was a fanart trend a while back where Gems were depicted with variable fanged dentition. But mostly I was thinking of several instances in the show itself where Gems are depicted having sharp teeth. It doesn't occur consistently enough in the show to be considered canon, but frequently enough to be noticeable.

Some Gems are consistently given sharp teeth through their entire mouth during their "pointed tooth" moments, such as Eyeball Ruby and Peridot.

Whereas others have fangs. Emerald in particular is consistently depicted with fangs in (I believe) all of her appearances. The pointy teeth moments in general appear when the Gem in question in aggressive or frustrated. Hence my extension of making Gems in FADIAMT have proper Fangs **TM**.

The fangs of Gems in FADIAMT are of variable shape and size depending on the caste. And they are also semi-retractable. Which is, yes, A Real Thing.

Consider the Chinese water deer.

A lovely lad. With semi-retractable teeth.

This is possible because the fangs themselves are rooted very loosely in the sockets, and have a ring of muscle around them. When the muscle flexes, it pulls the teeth forward. This is for threat display and combat purposes. Here's an additional diagram:

In FADIAMT Gems, this also applies, with the added utility of being used to latch onto objects or cut through them. The use of retractable fangs as a means to grip objects/animals can be observed in certain species of snake.

Now, since Gems are Made Of Light, this skeletal stuff doesn't necessarily apply, but the logic still remains. Bone stuff definitely applies to Steven, though. Steven is a biological abomination.

One last picture, one of mine (as a treat!)- a series of drawings of Steven's teeth specifically.

I said multiple pairs of fangs. I did not exaggerate. Big chompers.

-Aenor


	10. Art- The Dragon Is Okay, Too

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _The Dragon Is Okay Too_ , by Onion Fisher.  
> Second hand fabric, recycled buttons, sand.
> 
> Depiction of an unknown corrupted Gem, rendered as a stuffed doll. Effigies of corrupted forms are common in Era 3 art, either as a get-well gift for the depicted Gem in question, and/or a broader sentiment of acceptance and recovery for an otherwise traumatic event. Some Gems even create images of their own corrupted forms as a form of therapeutic self-expression.
> 
> Currently in the possession of Asteria Diamond.
> 
> -Aenor


	11. Meta- Two Loves, I Suppose

Asteria Diamond loves one First Knight, Connie Maheswaran very much.

Asteria Diamond loves one Champion, Euhedral Riband Jasper Facet-B81 Kite-815 very much.

These are not mutually exclusive.

Steven and Connie's relationship is about building eachother up, being the shoulder, the sword, the shield the other can lean on.

Steven's _lost_ a lot of his extroversion and outward happiness because of his trauma, but with Connie, who understands and has been by his side for so much of it, he's still that soft, blushing kid that doesn't really exist anymore for anyone else.

For Connie, she has someone who thinks the absolute universe of her, and then some. Steven's always going to be genuinely fascinated with her as a person, for all of her accomplishments, mundane or otherwise. Someone who she loves, admires, and respects who sees her the same way she sees him.

Steven and Jasper's relationship is about breaking eachother down.

Steven's power is a very "still waters run deep" type. He needs a physical equal that can wear him down and ride out his temper. Many of his relationships are either unequal in his favor or protective/parental in nature (either on his end or theirs), so he needs someone who can go Fuck That.

Jasper is also someone in dire need of an outlet for her power and temper, but also she's fundamentally searching for purpose- or rather, something worthy of being her purpose. She's found someone who went out of his way to engage her, on her terms, a physical equal with a unique shared experience, and most of all, someone who can accept that. Which Steven does. He accepts and understands her devotion, and returns it in his own way.

And obviously, Steven and Connie's relationship is the _romantic_ one, in the human sense. Mostly because Connie's the one who made that first move, the one who opened the idea of their relationship being like that. Because he does love her. He loved her early on, when it was his fourteenth birthday and he already assumed that he would be by her side for years to come. He loved her when he was being taken away to Homeworld. In _SU:F_ , when they weren't even really dating and they were only "best friends", he wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. He loved her in a very non-physical, but still obviously romantic way. In _For A Diamond Is A Marveled Thing_ , this is a very Gem brand of love.

It's Connie who's the more forward in terms of romance (as canon courtesy of Rebecca Sugar's words). She's the one who kisses him first, and in _For The Tax Benefits. Also I Love You_ , she's the one who does the proposal. Steven definitely reciprocates at every term, but I have the feeling he'd be just as happy being Mega Best Friends For Life.

Meanwhile, Steven and Jasper are in a very Gem brand type of relationship that borders on the queerplatonic- definitely more than friends, a different energy than family, and not quite romantic in the sense that Connie and Steven are.

I didn't quite intend for Asteria Diamond to be the gem equivalent of polyromantic when I started this series, _but here we are in the future, I guess._

Connie and Jasper's relationship never quite skirts any romantic tone- they're both the type to save their devotion for one person only, but they definitely have a sort of solidarity and kinship through their shared relationship with Steven. They both love him (albeit in slightly different tones), so they might as well love him together.

Jasper and Connie's relationship basically boils down to communally hoarding the Respect Steven Juice like dragons and going **Drink Up Bitch** whenever someone does him wrong.

-Aenor


	12. Art- A Love Affair, But Exit Left

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was drawn during a stream I hosted on the day of the SU:F finale.  
> -Aenor


	13. Comic- I Am So Fucking Mad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just like the idea that when he's Dad Ranting at someone, he starts growing in size until he's taller than the poor soul in question.
> 
> What drove his patience to the brink and actually got him mad at his dear Jasper? _:)_  
>  -Aenor


	14. Meta- The Diamond and The Prince

Steven and Thor's arcs in their respective canons are almost opposites.

Steven is responsibility from a too young age, an arc of accepting that not everything is or even _should_ be his responsibility, learning to value and care for himself.

  
Thor is irresponsible far beyond his adulthood, an arc of accepting the responsibility of his position, learning to value others beyond himself and his pride/concerns.

Steven was a child treated like an adult, Thor was an adult treated like a child.

When they first meet, Steven is a full fledged Diamond and has been for _years_. He is father, king, shepherd, diplomat all in one. Thor still actively avoids kingship, only knowing and acting in his role as a warrior.

Thor sees Steven as someone he could be- an experienced, wise ruler. He's starts to admire Steven (though initially through the lens of raw power), still unsure of the other's motivations but willing to learn.

Steven looks at Thor, and sees the child who hasn't yet realized the horrible things that have happened to him.

-Aenor


	15. Art- Like A Topaz

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone asked me how Aquamarine reacts to Asteria Diamond having filled out like a Topaz, and so I oblige.  
> -Aenor


	16. Art- The Girl Who Could Fly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The initial concept art of carnelian, jasper and steven's fusion.  
> The final design of became considerably stockier than the one put here, but the idea is the same.  
> -Aenor


	17. Art- Carnelian, Reference Sheet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fullbody reference of Carnelian that I used when drafting *a love affair, but exit left*.
> 
> In the end, I decided she would be way stockier, but the core features are still the same  
> -Aenor


	18. Art- Captain Lars And The Crime Beard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Variations of Lars and his supposed crime beard.
> 
> I won't say he looks _handsome_ or in any way better with the beard, but it certainly contributes to the crime boy aesthetic. His beard probably looks better as time goes on and he gets. Better At Doing Beards.
> 
> He wants to look older, or at least a little different. This is kind of his little coping mechanism against the natural stagnation of his immortality.
> 
> He might have been inspired by thor, in terms of having a beard and braided hair.
> 
> (Haha thor is going to have a strange emotion the next time they see eachother and lars is. Digivolved)  
> -Aenor


	19. Art- What You Owe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just removed his flashburn, and restored his hair to it's state seen in _Lion 2: Straight To Video_ , and boom, he aged backwards by like twenty years. Although really, it's just what he would look like had he had a good quality of life.
> 
> This is what he looks like as of _Tax Benefits_. He didn't notice because it took place over a long period of time, until he finally looked in the mirror and realized he didn't quite recognize what he saw.  
> -Aenor


	20. Art- Whenever I Held It, I Could See The War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _"You remember the war."_
> 
> _"I remember everything."_
> 
> -Aenor


	21. Art- A Lion The Size Of A Horse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said horse size, I Bring Horse Size
> 
> he only _looks_ small in the last picture because he's being ridden by asteria Absolute Unit diamond  
> -Aenor


	22. Meta- A Conversation On Gemsong

As you may or may not be aware, there is a Discord chat dedicated to the fics written on this account (which there is an active link to join posted on the _For A Diamond Is A Marveled Thing_ series page).

This chat is a means for people to receive chapter update notifications faster than AO3 provides, share fanworks (the fanart tag is LIVING, kings, I am a proud parent. We even have a fanfic tag for FADIAMT itself on the chat.) But first and foremost, it is a means for The Boys (y'all) to interact with eachother, and also interact with me. I have shared future fic plots and meta, as well as asked advice about stories (the chat even directly contributed to writing several chapters of _Aliens Steal Cable_ , through the Asteria Diamond AMA event). So naturally, by my own encouragement, people do ask questions concerning lore/meta of the fics, or clarifications of certain concepts. 

One chat member, Jaybird314 (a fellow AO3 author) asked a series of questions concerning gemsong, the language concept I created to assign to Gems in my canon. These were very salient questions, and while one does not necessarily require an in-depth explanation of the concept in order to enjoy the story (I'm probably doing something wrong if you need to commit to readings outside my fic in order to understand/enjoy the fic itself), it may still be enjoyable, to those of you who enjoy Deep Lore as I do, to have certain things clarified, especially those of you who are considering using gemsong in your own Steven Universe fanworks (which I have seen people do, and I immensely enjoy).

* * *

**-Why do Gems have an auto-translated psychic language when their interactions with other species tend to be either 'annihilate' or 'ignore'?**

Gemsong psychic fuckery is first and foremost a means to communicate with other gems. The fact that it is compatible to non-gem minds in any capacity is a total accident.

**-If Gemsong is based on intent then how come Steven was able to accidently speak to Connie in untranslated Gemsong at the end of _Like A Word, A Sound, A Song_ ?**

Gemsong is intent, yes. but one must intend to speak to a _human_ in order to speak human. There must be a directed intent at the individual being spoken to. Think of all non-gem communication as a second language. People tend to revert to their first language for various accidental reasons- distress, surprise, or just plain ol' forgetting people might not speak your language. I did say, in the fic itself, that the reason Steven occasionally speaks untranslated gemsong to Connie is that on some level he registers her as a gem instead of a human being, either due to their closeness or the fact that they've fused so much.

**\- If it's a psychic language then why is there an audible aspect to it? Is there an actual language with words and such? If not, would Gems be able to understand each other at all without the psychic aspect?**

Gems brains are made of musicy noise. Mouth go blipidy blip music noise make thought noises go words.

There is canonically gem written language, though spoken language is,,, mm. It's like whalesong. Unique to every individual but there is an underlying universal logic and patterning shared across the species. There are word concepts unique to gem language, though this is more because of these concepts being part of gem society rather than a product of language.

**\- if Gem language is all music then why didn't Peridot know what music was in the first place?**

What Peridot did not understand was the human definition of music as a recreational/emotionally expressive art form. As a base worker she would not have been exposed to recreational art. Though gems, as Music Brained, are intuitively capable of emotionally expressive song.

**-If Gemsong doesn't have words, how would that work in terms of individual thought processes? Like- because I only know English, I think in English.**

Bold of you to assume gems think in words.

Animals can think and they don't have words. Word language clearly is not a necessary part of complex cognition.

**-Mm, I will argue with you on that one- theres some evidence that not having any kind of language can be detrimental to cognitive development in humans, but there's no reason for that to apply in a species with inherent programming.**

Ok but consider this- humans are designed to have language, therefore not having language would fuck up humans.

If gems, who do by design have language but not concrete word thought. by design,,,

It's like asking if humans are brain damaged by their inability to see polarized light like mantis shrimp can.

It's Not Brain Damage If It's Brain Design

* * *

Bonus question by chat member rocketroland:

**So does Steven think in words or gem spaghetti**

**Or both?**

steven thinks in gem spaghetti.

-Aenor


	23. Art- The First Knight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> someone asked if I had connie art. the answer is yes
> 
> what she would have looked like in diamond drop  
> -Aenor


	24. Art- An Entire Damn Sleeve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is actually some older art that I can finally post now that _tax benefits_ has updated. back in the days when I was figuring out her sleeve.  
> -Aenor


	25. Art- One For Each Hand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> he has one on each hand. When sten and vendan unfuse, they each get one. vendan the left, sten the right.  
> -Aenor


	26. Art- Overgrown Cat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in reference to one particular chapter of _godspeed you stargirl_. this drawing was made before I fully finalized connie's sleeve, which is why it isn't accurate to the description in _tax benefits_.
> 
> he's kinda small looking in this picture, but that's less due to actual size difference and more the positioning.
> 
> and yes. she is wearing one of steven's old star shirts. it really do be like that sometimes.  
> -Aenor


	27. Meta- For The Tax Benefits. Also I Love You

The core concept of _For The Tax Benefits. Also I Love You_ is the concept of choice and happiness- more specifically, that happiness is an active and continuous choice that a person must make for themselves not in spite of, but because of life's hardships.

Because marriage is a choice, isn't it. Choosing love, choosing commitment, choosing a person. But it's also a choice for _yourself-_ you and your happiness.

Happiness in "normalcy" does not truly exist- the presence of one does not guarantee the other. Happiness does not and cannot exist in stagnation or false mundanity, it exists as an active thing. Happiness is something that is alive, but only you choose to feed it.

Priyanka chooses to decide that her family cannot define her happiness. She looks at her daughter's relationship with Steven, and _yeah, wow, it's kind of fucking weird_ , and decides that that's not _her_ choice. She chooses to be happy for them.

Sten and Vendan cannot choose to never let anything hurt eachother again. But they can choose to always face everything together.

Greg can't control the fact that every day he's less the man that Rose once loved. But he can learn to live with it. He can accept that he doesn't _have_ to necessarily be that person.

Lars can't control his inevitable disconnect to humanity, to his old home, to his old life. He can't control the fact that in many ways his life has _stopped._ But he can decide what braids to wear today. He can decide to grow his beard. He can decide to put on his apron.

Steven and Connie can't control the circumstances of their relationship. Steven's basically immortal. Connie is... not. Even though she makes the choice to take The Eternal Raincheck On Death, they cannot change the fact that her life is ultimately more fragile than his. So they decide not to let it matter, and be happy with the time they have now, regardless.

Like, yes. Steven and Connie's lives are kind of fucked up. Holy damn so fucked up. The whole crew is fucked up, my guys. The road these kids took to get where they are? No parent would want that on their child. The Maheswarans would not have wanted Connie to throw her life into danger. Rose wouldn't have wanted Steven to suffer war.

But it's not their choice.

_I know you wouldn't have wanted this. But **I** do._

Look at them. They're happy. They won't be happy forever and always, but they will forever and always make the decision to find happiness anyway. Knowing that, does all that other stuff ultimately matter?

Connie and Steven's answer is an empathetic " _No_ ".

-Aenor


	28. Art- Uncle Az, From Alice's Side

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Steven can't get rid of his freckles.  
> Corruption scars can't be shapeshifted away, after all.  
> -Aenor


	29. Meta- Ciphers and Codes

Hi there! I'm Falrisesi, Co-Author of Holepunchers and cipher nerd. I generally help Aenor out with ideas and plans for this part of the crossover, though I don't write the fic, I do draw and when things get revealed you might even see some of my art appear in here!

So, on ciphers- lets have a bit of a talk about those ciphers I've been writing.

With the confirmation that we were adding in Gravity Falls into the story, I went ahead and came up with a bunch of stupid ideas to help, one of these ideas was about Ciphers. You see for reasons I can't explain (otherwise Aenor will be mad ;;) I first thought about Steven using a code for writing letters.

This started out as jumbled Gemglyph- something Steven and Connie could read and understand, its been jumbled. But to a gem it would be nonsense due to Gem Brain and to humans would just be Gemglyph, which at this point probably wasn't taught.

However, you see I ran into the problem.

I don't know gem glyph and what each of the letters are and it kinda felt wrong to use it to code when I had no idea what it read as.

So instead I went to my drawing board and decided I would make a new cipher. You see as much as I love gravity falls and its community there's an issue. Y'ALL ARE GREAT CODE CRACKERS. So I wanted to make something unique and unseen to at least give a bit more of a challenge.

So I made DeerStalker orrr...

So I should explain. You see, with gemglyph its all straight lines with various patterns, but they were all really uniform. I kinda liked that but I wanted more...character in the letters, so after looking at the Journal's cipher I somewhat combined the two into a readable unique look.

  
Almost all of the shapes either use triangles in them or their negative space gives a triangle look to it with some of the letters being full on diamonds with unique patterns inside of them.

I should mention there's no pattern correlation between letters that have similar shapes. I just made them like that to spoof English with its letters like, b d, u v, a e.

So that's all I can say on Deerstalker right now :>

* * *

_Oh deer oh deer,_   
_Have I made a mistake?_   
_Surely you all know what's at stake?_   
_A tragic error or a code in disguise,_   
_Getting it wrong would be very unwise._

* * *


	30. Meta- Re: Connie And The Man Who Didn't Deserve It

In Chapter 19 of _Godspeed You Stargirl, You Paladin Amongst Peons_ , Connie mentions she stabbed someone.

Let's talk about that.

What did the man do that warranted Connie stabbing him? The answer is... _there is no answer_.

In-universe, Connie simply _reacted_. She barely remembers the actual event, only the bare clinical details, the aftermath.

Out of universe, however- I didn't elaborate on the event because the event itself is not the point.

It would be very easy to simply say she was assaulted or mugged, but no. I didn't want to make A Very Special Episode( **TM** ). She is not some _Strong Female Character_ ( **TM** ) who must _Overcome Assault_ ( **TM** ) _In Spite Of Her Womanhood_ ( **TM** ). Explicitly saying she was brutalized in some way, I feel, would be a disservice to her, putting her through the tired old Crime Of Womanhood that some people seem to think women and femme presenting characters are obligated to go through in order to become Valid Female Characters.

Connie is a character first, and a woman second. Unless there's a specific narrative about gender or identity involved, gender and sexuality are entirely incidental in the characters I write _._

To be blunt- **gender is not some kind of character arc to be overcome, and I will not treat it as such**.

So I gave the event and the man behind it the narrative weight they deserve- _exactly none._

Because it's not about the event.

The point is how _she_ perceives it _afterwards_. How _she_ feels about it. And she _doesn't_ know how to feel about it- doesn't know how to categorize the event.

She wonders if he deserved it.

If I told you what he did, you will inevitably make your judgement. You would think about whether or not he deserved it, what that makes Connie, etc. 

So I decided not to give you the option to judge.

She's confused and unsure- as long as she is, so are you.

-Aenor


	31. Art- Normal Man

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -by Falrisesi
> 
> we made norman into a real boy and there's nothing you can do about it  
> -Aenor


	32. Jokes

Not a meta, I just wanted to be funny.

An IRL friend expressed interest, a while back, in watching Steven Universe so they could understand _For A Diamond Is A Marveled Thing_ if they read it, so I made a quick "pitch" explaining Steven Universe. I remembered it just now, and wanted to share it with y'all:

* * *

**-STEVEN UNIVERSE-**

**Steven Universe**

Steven is a magic boy with four mommies! ~~Steven doesn't realize he's been raised as a child soldier since he was eight years old.~~

**Steven Universe: The Movie**

Wow, Steven's grown up so much! ~~Steven defines his life, and by extension, himself, with his traumatic experiences. He has resigned himself to the idea that he will have to deal with the aftermath of other people's problems for the rest of his life, and that it will be ultimately his responsibility to fix them.~~

**Steven Universe: Future**

~~Wow, Steven's grown up so much!~~

Steven Universe, at age 16, canonically has C-PTSD due to living through life-threatening situations, actual war, childhood abuse/neglect, and being used as the punching bag for other people to deal with their traumas for his entire life. He has never had a purpose or identity outside the context of war. He has been indirectly taught his entire life that he can only be loved or valued as a person if he constantly proves his objective usefulness to others.

He is afraid of the uncertain future.

He is afraid of himself.

He has just killed someone.

_He is spiraling-_

* * *


	33. Meta- Concerning Pepper Potts

* * *

So Pepper broke up with Tony in _Fishing Pictures_. I should probably explain myself, huh?

I didn't do this for the sake of any ship, I just thought it would be in character for her to do.

Because it's a recurring Thing in the MCU Iron Man arc that he kind of has to choose between Pepper and, well- _Iron Man._ Their relationship is always on the rocks because of his inability to ever stop being Iron Man, even out of the suit. The times when they were stable was when he _stepped back_ from being Iron Man, if only temporarily. He'd stepped back more and more until _Infinity War_ essentially traumatized him into retirement and Tony sort of abandoned Iron Man entirely. They were able to get married, have a kid together.

In a world where Earth has Literal Alien Overlords, is Tony going to feel _safe_ enough to ever abandon Iron Man?

Probably, realistically, _sadly-_ no.

And Pepper was his friend before she was his girlfriend. She knows him. She might know, in turn, that this time, he may well _never_ give up Iron Man for her, no matter how much he loves her.

So she decides not to make him choose, and steps back.

-Aenor


	34. Meta- Hit The Diamond

What does it mean to shatter a Diamond?

I want to say, first of all, that this is entirely hypothetical. The Diamond's aren't getting shattered in _For A Diamond Is A Marveled Thing_ , not even temporarily. That's why I can just put all this in a meta without it being spoilers. I'm just thinking, in the context of the universe I've created, what would actually happen.

The first thing to consider is simply the dissipation of form. Many corrupted Gems generate sonic explosions upon losing form, so a Diamond would most likely generate an explosion of some kind simply upon dissipation (unless, perhaps using very specialized equipment, such as Rose's sword, which was designed to seamlessly destroy a Gem's physical form). So destroying a Diamond's form is already dangerous enough on its own.

But to shatter? Well...

...a Diamond is born out of the heart of a star, consuming it entirely upon emergence.

So to destroy something that holds all the power of a star?

...I'm sure everything will turn out just fine, won't it.

-Aenor


	35. Art- Son of the Wolf

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the guitar robbie uses in the show is kind of tiny. guess he prefers the kiddie ones


	36. Meta- For Datasage

You may have noticed that _Fishing Pictures_ is gifted to an AO3 user named Datasage. Who is this Datasage?

Datasage is actually a co-author for the series! Or rather, co-author for a very, very specific part of the series. Datasage is the creator of Connor.

Datasage is a member of my public Discord server, who some time back DM'd me with a very gutsy idea, which they pitched through an RP medium. (The tools used in this session were later used to set up the live Asteria Diamond AMA event.)

Datasage created the idea of an alternate timeline Steven who survived the Time Steven purge from the Steven Universe episode _Steven and the Stevens_ , and the general background of what he went through/what he does. It was a very good session. I liked the character that would one day become Connor, but the story was so self-contained that I knew it would be difficult, if not outright impossible, to integrate the two timelines together.

So I liberally applied some Extra Time Travel, making the most literal gateway possible for Connor to enter the series.

I can't pinpoint if Connor truly is Datasage's character or mine. While the character who would _become_ Connor was entirely Datasage's, he needed quite a bit of balancing and polishing in order to become the character now seen in the series. But Datasage can still be considered the primary character writer and consultant for the character of Connor (and other upcoming characters directly associated with him), while I scuttle around doing larger story work and polishing.

The events of the _original_ Connor timeline, created in the original session, still happened, and Datasage and I still have the original records. But _For A Diamond Is A Marveled Thing_ is essentially an alternate timeline of that one. The Connor that appears in the series proper is not the original Connor, and the Asteria Diamond that you see is not the original Asteria Diamond. It's like how the Steven post- _Steven and the Stevens_ isn't the same Steven we saw in the previous episodes.

The circumstances of the first Connor/Asteria Diamond and what caused that Asteria Diamond to go on a time jump... they are relevant, and will be revealed eventually.

But for now, Connor's role in the story is getting better. Becoming a person. Moving on. Everything revealed about his past will mostly be revealed through how he works toward the future. But probably not much directly.

After all, in-universe, that time no longer really exists, anywhere or anywhen, except within the scattered memories of the Stevens themselves.

-Aenor

* * *


	37. Art- Connor's First

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What Connor might have looked like when he first got yoinked. Awkward and teenish. Kind of paler than normal steven because He Is Not In Helth


	38. Art- Cinna Monterey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Cinna!
> 
> -Falrisesi


	39. Art- "Please let go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My "favorite" moment from chapter 41 of _Fishing Pictures_.  
> -Aenor


	40. Art- Kneecapper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recalling that one author's note in _Hole Puncher_.  
> I think Steven looks great in a dress I don't know what you're talking about  
> -Aenor


	41. Art- She Steals Serotonin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Moonstone, Cinna's girlfriend.
> 
> -Falrisesi


	42. Art- A Special Relationship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 50 of _Fishing Pictures._  
>  -by Falrisesi
> 
> that's right steven was totally open-shirted the whole chapter It Just Never Came Up  
> -Aenor


	43. Art- Diamond, Unguarded

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _;)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In reference to the first panel of the previous chapter's comic. This is actually a relatively old drawing which was used as a minor study of Asteria Diamond's tattoos and corruption scars.  
> -Aenor


	44. Meta- Fishing Pictures

One commenter noted that _Fishing Pictures_ , which as of the writing of this meta has been recently completed, felt like an intermission within the series.

Well, You Aren't Wrong.

The Battle Of New York has just been put behind. Loki's trial is in the distance. Asteria Diamond is absent just as much as he is present throughout the installment, away in Gravity Falls as _We Coded The Oregon Trail With A Hole Puncher And There's Nothing You Can Do About It_ takes place. So there really is a sense of pause. It's a summer of waiting- the slow aftermath of a battle, the rising fallout.

It was very deliberate that even when he is mentioned or interacted with, Steven wasn't very present in the story. Out of 53 chapters, Steven is only _physically_ there for only about a fifth of it.

_Fishing Pictures_ really isn't about Steven- while he's there, it's mostly about the other characters he's associated with, and I wanted to give them a stage to develop and be themselves for a little while before things get intense again.

They all wait for the axe to fall, and the world continues to spin.

-Aenor


	45. Meta- Is Asteria Diamond Nonbinary?

While I've never said it in-series outside of confirmation in the comments, Asteria Diamond is indeed non-binary and is _written_ as such in the story. I've noticed it's a semi-frequent question, that people are confused when Asteria Diamond is addressed by seemingly conflicting gender pronouns.

Asteria Diamond essentially has no canonical gender. He simply _does not identify_ , not even as genderless. As Rebecca Sugar once said, there are no male or female Gems, there are only Gems. The same logic applies to Asteria Diamond- he identifies as a Gem, as opposed to any human gender identity. He uses he/him pronouns in his self narration, as does his family, but others have imposed she/her, they/them, and even it/its pronouns on him. There's no "correct" pronoun to assign to him, and he doesn't care what gendered identity others project onto him. Pronouns and gendered terms for Gems are canonically a matter of convenience, indicating nothing about identity.

This is part of why Steven gets to be Connie's wife. It's just an easier word than husband!

And while we're on these gay sort of questions- yes, he is asexual. But asexuality, like other orientations, falls on a wide spectrum, and asexuality does not inherently imply an unwillingness or inability to have sex/engage in physical intimacy, simply a lack of natural drive to do so. It's like food cravings, I suppose- you can eat a certain food, and even enjoy it quite a lot, without needing to crave it before hand. Long story short- he doesn't drive, but is willing to go along for the ride.

And he's certainly not aromantic- quite the opposite, I think. He Has Too Much Love. Look at him. He has two hands and he's already using both of them to hold Connie and Jasper in varying capacities.

When Will The Madness End. Who Will He Snatch Next.

-Aenor


	46. Art- "Crimson Carbide"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> he finally gave into his intrusive thoughts and cut the sleeves off his shirts  
> -Aenor


	47. Art- And They Were Brothers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the Brothers **TM** , ever since they've been able to safely unfuse.
> 
> i've always seen the two as individually having a sense of unrealness to them. with vendan, he's sort of a ghostly, pale figure- nothing about him seems truly real or present except for the eyes. sten, with more saturated, "real" colors, seems weighted in reality, but his eyes- dark, dark, darker- are almost removed from reality. these effects do not cancel eachother out in steven- it combines to create a presence almost _unsettlingly_ anchored.
> 
> such is the presence of a diamond- to be so anchored that other things may seem less real, if you aren't careful.


	48. Art- His Name Is Sun Tzu And He Will Lead Us To Victory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Sun Tzu", from _Fishing Pictures_. Please welcome the newest FADIAMT co-author, Jaybird314, and their first piece of official art.


	49. Art- Well Hello There, Stranger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there, Vairam.
> 
> a little babey i posted on the discord  
> -Aenor


	50. Art- Baby Boy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this poor man went through ten years of puberty in the span of like two months. ouch connor's bones  
> -Aenor


	51. Art- Better Beards

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> his beard looks marginally better than it did the last time we saw him, on account of the fact that he's gotten better at managing beards. it actually looks like a beard now, and not some vaguely awkward goatee/mustache combo.  
> i want you to know i specifically imagined him saying **well sir, i am a raging fucking twink** without context and that is the entire reason that i drew this picture  
> -Aenor
> 
> (haha do you ever think about the fact that his face is physically unpunchable now? if someone punched it, they would not find face, There Would Only Be Portals)


	52. Illustrated Meta- Barrel

Have you ever noticed the barrel chest that Gems have?

All Gems regardless of caste display a strongly and obviously segmented anatomy, which is most prominently visible through the "barrel" of the chest. While it superficially resembles the curvature of a female human's breasts, it's very clearly just the natural shape of the Gem body itself, structurally.

Barring Gems with physical defects, such as Amethyst, the core area of the gems body has an almost insectoid appearance, with the "barrel" of the chest being structurally similar to a _thorax_ due to the unnatural curvature and sharp connection to the abdomen and waist.

And the thorax, as shown here, is round on all sides in a way impossible for a vertebrate animal. Uncanny, ne?

Also, I draw Gem thorax studies for myself just to understand it. Freaky, yea? All the building little features that separate them from humans.

This isn't something of a recent discovery for me. In fact, it's part of why I draw Connor and Asteria with such wide chests. True, they are muscular and broad, but I do draw them specifically (especially Az) to be a bit _inhumanly_ so. They aren't just buff, they're displaying elements of Gem structural anatomy.

Aliens, man.

-Aenor


	53. Art- Gay And Can't Drive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> realizing i've never drawn adya for y'all before, which is a shame, so here's a quick sketch.
> 
> things that are canon about adya but just haven't come up yet- she's legally blind! she can still see, but very poorly, even _with_ glasses. she uses her phone as a visual aid, because the camera can see things she can't. also she's pansexual.
> 
> ~~gay and can't drive~~


	54. Art- More Than Life Itself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -by Alderous
> 
> A favorite moment in this arc of _In Facets_. Alderous actually wrote a good chunk of Greg's dialogue, and the setup of how Greg confronted Steven in the van came to us via a dream Alderous had.  
> -Aenor


	55. Art- The Center Of The Universe, And All Things In It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -by Jaybird314
> 
> Sten and Vendan from Chapter 4 of _Fishing Pictures_. Steven is a good cook, but is a little dicey about actual human recipes and his tastes are a bit cursed, so the two are looking up a breakfast to make for Connie.  
> Notice that they aren't wearing the vest or tie. I imagine Steven's clothes to be "tiered" based on how comfortable he feels. Wearing the vest/tie is his everyday level, but forgoing it is especially casual and vulnerable. They're okay being like this at home or with Connie, but they wouldn't go out like that. (As for the cloak, it's for stress/stim purposes. He doesn't wear it unless he has a particular need for comfort or knows he's going to be encountering alot of potentially overwhelming stimuli.)  
> -Aenor
> 
> ~~you can't see what's on the screen because it's in UV colors~~


	56. Art- You Can Still Call Him Uncle Az

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He doesn't go out like this while in Gravity Falls- Gems are uncommon in the West Coast, and he's not looking to draw attention to himself. But when he's just with the Pines and friends, he doesn't bother with human pretense anymore.


	57. Art- A Delicate Line Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A canonical sizes line-up of some Lads, featuring The First Time I Bothered To Elaborate On Connor's Full Body. the connor and az turned out so satisfying that this is actually part of an entire series of line-ups.
> 
> Lion's ratio to Az is like a horse, while Wolf's ratio to Connor is like a riding pony.


	58. Art- They

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even unfused, Vendan will still sleep with his brother just for the physical presence of it, the steady drum of a heartbeat he was born listening to. Besides, Sten can't sleep without that gemsong white noise that Vendan carries in their mind. They can't ever rest apart.
> 
> Vendan is the one holding Sten, as he often does.


	59. Art- A Full House, Or Something Like That

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The roster of Obsidian Temple residents, as of _Away At Sea_. Featuring jotunn Loki!
> 
> I had a minor mental breakdown over how small Vairam is in comparison to Steven. Barely comes up to his _baba's_ knees...  
> Forget the Asteria Diamond/classic!Steven dichotomy, Morion Vairam Maheswaran is the Real American Football.
> 
> Connie isn't included in this lineup because she's never actually lived in the Temple, as of yet. She stayed briefly during _Fishing Pictures_ , but that's about it. Wild, ne? They've been married for well over a year by this point, but they've still never lived together full time.


	60. Art- Brave Of You To Be Within Licking Distance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The aesir of FADIAMT do not possess human skin tones- they look and feel as though they were made of stone. Thor over there is even marbled!
> 
> Really gives some perspective, to put Connor next to people who are humanly tall. He Is A Greek Statue


	61. Art- Them

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lars I put at around 5'9", which is an average American male height and an above average Filipino man's height. He's just surrounded by Giants. His body shape is a bit more, uh, Developed than it was when he was left in SU:F because we're assuming that resurrection stopped his aging, not his growth. He was late teens when he died, so he still had a few years of development left under his belt.
> 
> Could've put Connie in a sweater,,, but I wanted to showcase her buff. Buff Connie Or Die  
> Steven and Connie are the Perfect height that he can park his head on her shoulder. Gay Rights
> 
> Things I learned about Jasper's canonical character design while drawing this  
> -she's frequently drawn with age lines around her eyes in many scenes. she is Tired  
> -outside of stressful/combative contexts, her general resting face is kind of... sleepy looking? Huh.  
> -all of her outfits have had Wild plunging necklines. jasper really said Barrel Out.
> 
> Jasper is about a head taller than an average Quartz due to being euhedral. Steven and Jasper's barrel happen to be around the same size. This is coincidental, but funny. I also tend to draw Jasper with a hair texture that mimics Steven's. This is _not_ a coincidence. Gems have been shown to draw appearance from people they like/respect.


	62. Art- Awkward Gem Friends Gang

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adya joins Lars in the Statistically Average For My Demographic, Yet Surrounded By Giants club. She's very tall for an Indian girl but A Doll next to the Greek Statue that is Connor. Wild, to put a normal person next to someone like Connor or Az.
> 
> She has a Tiny tattoo on her face! A Little flower right under her left eye. It means something that will be discussed eventually in _Away At Sea._
> 
> Cinna, meanwhile- very tall! _Almost_ as tall as Connor- she's in between Az and Connie's heights. When she told Connor to square up, she was not joking- they're in the same size class to properly fight eachother, and with her fire elemental parts she can actually hold up in a casual duel against him.


	63. Art- No You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Connor, after coming back the first time from the Asgardian campaign. He's got a boofy ponytail now! Assume, for Thematic Reasons, that it's vaguely rose-shaped.
> 
> Az and Connor don't actually need to cut their hair or shave- it'll stay how they want it, due to shapeshifting. This is shown as a canon facet of Steven's powers in the SU episode _Too Many Birthdays_. His hair was all over the place due to whack aging but then went back to normal afterwards.


	64. Art- Talented Children

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Connor and his talented children. Talents include  
> -stabbing  
> -screaming  
> -licking people  
> -Cherish Father
> 
> Sunrise is at the ideal height for Connor to scruff when necessary. Discipline The Child


	65. Art- Connie's Wife

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've mentioned it vaguely and precisely once, but Steven isn't dressed as Asteria Diamond when the dorm girls encounter her. They usually find Connie's wife after having Obviously Spent The Night, so she's soft and low energy, with a side of "just woke up like this". Basically just a big sleepy cat. She doesn't really talk that much unless the girls make an effort to engage her, so as far as they know she's just Connie's soft exotic wife. The concept is so entrenched that it doesn't really occur to them that she might be anything more than that.


	66. Meta- The Coward

Lars is a coward, and I don't mean it as a joke.

My thing with Lars, and his relationship with Steven, I freely admit it was a sort of commentary on self-hating characters and _people_. The way that self-hatred is commonly depicted as something romantic.

I don't mean romantic in the "sexy" kind of way, I mean in the tragic, _romanticized_ way. As though the self hatred creates positive flavor to a person and that being overly self critical is understandable to the point of being admirable. Which I do not agree with.

There is a narrative in this world that trying to love oneself is a form of selfishness. But in my opinion... hating yourself is nothing more than just a different kind of selfishness, really.

Lars allows himself to create the self-narrative that he is someone fundamentally incapable of love, inevitably destined to hurt and ruin others. He falls in love with Steven and his gut reaction is to push Steven away before he can ruin him. Lars thinks of this as a selflessness, but it's _not._

Because he's loved. And the outright refusal to acknowledge that is ultimately the worst kind of hurt he could have done. The refusal to love and be loved is not a selflessness. It is not a service. It is a selfishness that hurts others.

Lars is afraid. He's not wrong to be. Steven is a terrifying person to fall in love with. Scary things happen to him, he does scary things, he _himself_ is scary on his own, in many ways.

But you can either love the universe or be afraid of it- you cannot have the luxury of both.

In order for the two to resolve what Steven and Lars are to eachother, Lars has to acknowledge his fear. He has to stop being a coward.

He has to allow himself to be loved.

-Aenor


	67. Art- Is That A T-Rex?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -by Jaybird314
> 
> Iolite Facet-18 Pendeloque-31463, the leader of the amber mine expedition. Her Gem type is structurally similar to beryls like aquamarine and emerald. Her caste is a mid-tier management/admin type, specializing in memory and cataloguing information. This specific Iolite has a special interest in fossils and dinosaurs, which is why she was assigned to the job. An old sona of Jaybird's, we thought it'd be a nice little cameo.
> 
> She was a research head made for Pink Diamond's court but was transferred to Blue's after the "shattering". She fled to Earth and joined the Rebellion out of self preservation- Blue's grief ran rampant, and it's shown in canon that Pink's court suffered from the rage of the other Diamonds out of misplaced blame. She came to appreciate Earth's life in her own time, thanks to Rose's own fascination, before the corruption happened.
> 
> Current science suggests that Tyrannosaurus young were feathered, and lost feathers as they matured (though still possibly retaining a crest along the head and tail).
> 
> -Aenor
> 
> ~~not pictured- tony losing his fucking mind over seeing a real life t rex~~


	68. Art- Carnelian Of The Mountains

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final Carnelian. She sure is one big boofer.  
> -Aenor
> 
> (color key designed by lazykcdoodler. go check out their tumblr!)


	69. Illustrated Meta- Little Diamonds

Now _somebody_ (read: the Discord server) was quite interested in seeing a proper size chart for the resized Diamonds, as well as any possible design changes they underwent during downsizing, and so I obliged. I learned several things in the process.

* * *

**Wow, the boys are always bigger than I think they are.**

The Diamonds are objectively very tall- White Diamond (minus heel and hair height) is dropping in at around 10 ft. Yes, Pink Diamond _was_ a Mere 10 feet tall once all the hair is chopped from the height!

With teenaged Steven's canonical height being 5'6", Pearl is around 6 feet, placing Pink Diamond at 10 feet.

So in spite of these Giant Women, Az and Connor's sheer _bulk_ make them look kind of small.

* * *

**Diamond Commonalities**

Brief, but I noticed that all the original Diamonds have long faces, almond shaped eyes, full lips, and a curl of hair that framed the face.

* * *

**Gem Measuring Contest**

The Diamond's gems really aren't as big as they look, especially for their size. Discounting the frequent artistic distortions and off-modelling present in the show, their gems are actually a little small in proportion to their canonical forms. Which means that, in their downsized forms, their gems don't actually stand out that much. It's obvious that their gems are a little big for their bodies, but it's not a glaring detail.

So, let's talk about the individual forms, shall we?

* * *

**Blue Diamond**

Starting from left to right, Blue Diamond is our first contender. For the most part, nothing too drastic has occurred, but I _did_ remove her hair loopy thing and left it as a long dangling curl of hair on her right side. In general, her hair is now longer and wavier, going down to her ankles. The top of her dress is now in a left-shouldered toga to accommodate the increased proportional size of her gem, and also in homage to her design as it appears on the Diamond mural.

It's also partially where I got the longer, messier hair length from.

General note- I noticed her head is kind of small, proportionally, in comparison to that of the other Diamond's. Odd.

* * *

**White Diamond**

Color-wise, I'm specifically pulling from the palette she displays in _Steven_ _Universe Future_. It's very subtle, but her greys in the series go from, well- _grey_ \- to shades of pink and purple.

It's a rather subtle thing until the two palettes are placed side by side- SU:F White Diamond has a much softer presence overall due to this minimalistic color change.

I've also removed her shoulder pads (which I also did for Yellow) in order to make a less menacing silhouette. As was mentioned in _For The Tax Benefits, Also I Love You_ , the very specific reason for their downsize was to create a more approachable and nurturing presence, so a lot of the intimidation factor of their old designs has been dropped or softened. The area where her shoulder pads used to be now has the draping for her cape, and there a beaded line of black diamonds running in front of her chest between the cape shoulders. This, along with the simplified diamond shape in her no longer sheer dress, is based off of this piece of White Diamond concept art via Rebecca Sugar.

I've also rendered her hair far less oppressively geometric- it looks like actual hair now, which funnily enough creates a resemblance to Lion's star-shaped mane.

She ended up looking a little younger than I intended, because I didn't go so hard on her eyeliner. This is because the canvas I was working with was rather small, and the brush size had pixelated a fair bit, so I could properly convey subtle line weight like that. In the future, I may do a portrait piece of the Diamond Authority (yes, all of them, including Sunrose Diamond), which will better convey finer details like that.

* * *

**Yellow Diamond**

Well, there's not actually much to be said about her. Like White Diamond, I pulled from her SU:F palette, which had a very nice gradation of gold to bronze. Like White, I've rendered her hair more organically to create a softer appearance. I've also lengthened the tail of her coat, and changed her sharp shoulder pads into sleeves much like Pink Diamond's design.

Other than that, little has changed. Yellow Diamond's design was already incredibly austere and economical due to her military personality, so not much adjustment was required.

* * *

**Spinel!**

Her pigtails have become smaller and more rosebud like, and her eyelines now resemble more Blue Diamond's eyelashes than the tear tracks they used to be. Her pants have gotten a bit poofier, her sleeves have returned to their former roundness, and there's floating poms on her shoes like Pink Diamond had, in the shape of hearts. In spite of the generally rounder, softer aesthetic she displays, she still has the same coloration she had when she debuted in the movie.

That's all.

-Aenor


	70. Art- Something That Suits You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The other half of why she wanted Steven to bubble her for longer than she would naturally stay formless on her own- to have some proper time to consider her clothes.
> 
> She's started to wear pink again! Gee, wonder if that's significant in any way at all.
> 
> She has no sleeves because if she did she would flex them off. Also, she continues to go Barrel Out.


	71. Art- I Look Like A Fucking Hippie, Steven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Steven was very nice and got Lars some special glasses so his dead eye doesn't screw with him as much.
> 
> It's a natural problem in people who's eyes have drastically different levels of vision to get headaches, lazy eye, and other problems. Lars' left eye is normal, but his right eye is functionally a Gem eye, which means it's randomly blasting 4K resolution into his poor brain.
> 
> He's only going to wear them when he's "off-duty", as in not doing high-mobility work. It really warps the pirate aesthetic into a more bookish vibe, huh? Look at him. Does this look like the face of a criminal to you?
> 
> More things- he's not wearing his braids. Braids are more of a "working" hairstyle so it doesn't get in the way, and I imagine he'd lazily do all sorts of things to his hair just for the hell of it.
> 
> ~~Odd, isn't it? The right side of his face is a little slack.~~


	72. Art- A1 Polyam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first ever directly commissioned drawing for the FADIAMT series! I'm currently doing a blitz of polyam drawing memes for Steven/Lars/Connie. Details can be found on my twitter post here: https://twitter.com/AenorLlelo/status/1324599437935587329


	73. Art- C3 Polyam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another commissioned entry for the FADIAMT polyam drawing meme batch!


	74. Art- C2 Polyam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another slot of the Ko-fi commissioned polyam meme has been completed! If you want to help more Gay Rights come into existence, you can check out my twitter for details: https://twitter.com/aenorllelo


	75. Art- Two Halves Of A Whole Idiot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Con, and Thorn, and Connor!
> 
> Con and Thorn are both shorter than Connor, though Con is the shortest, at around Az's height. He's also way stockier than Thorn- Greg genetics are shining through in his build, height, and hair. Notice that his hair and skin are darker than Sten is- this is because Connor's ichor, like mentioned concerning Wolf's resurrection, is way _denser_ , so it manifests darker.
> 
> Thorn is an utter fucking scarecrow with a small waist, and he's got Pink Diamond colors. I assure you, he looks even more PD on main when his hair isn't tied back so oppressively- which is part of why he does tie it back in the first place.
> 
> Connor's scarring is split between them- Con retains the physical scarring from the various injuries Connor's body has sustained, while Thorn retains the gem damage and thornscars.
> 
> And they all have minor resting bitch face. That is simply how it is.


	76. (Drug Dealer Voice) Hey Kids, Wanna Buy Some Merch?

So, uh- _some_ people were interested in possible merch for FADIAMT. While this is Difficult, on account of the fact of, y'know, Copyright, I have managed to make some Non-Copyright Yoinkable stealth merch.

Diamond fangs! These fuckers are available on my Redbubble as masks, stickers, coasters, and T-shirts. While I won't directly link my Redbubble here, because that's against AO3 policy (for good reason- fanworks are on legal thin ice constantly), I _can_ link you my Twitter, which has links to where you can Acquire these designs.

You can find these under the _Stonefang_ collection in my store. My Discord and my Twitter receive updates on anything that's added to the store, and I will be creating more stealth FADIAMT designs like this over the course of the month.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://twitter.com/aenorllelo


	77. Art- Celebrance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another Diamond fang design for the _Stonefang_ collection. You can acquire it along with the others by finding the link on my Twitter, if you like. Any FADIAMT adjacent designs will still be posted here- you don't need to buy them to appreciate them. But know that even something as small as a sticker helps directly support writing the series!
> 
> Also, yes. Pink Diamond's honorific in FADIAMT is _Your Celebrance_.


	78. Survey- Can You Read This?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a test for people who use screen readers or read on mobile, to see if certain text is still screen reader friendly! Please tell me if it works or not. If this doesn't work, I just won't use it, and there's no issue. I'd just like to know beforehand.

**TEST 1**

Iғ ʏᴏᴜ ᴜsᴇ ᴀ sᴄʀᴇᴇɴ ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴄᴀɴ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴛʜɪs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴇɴᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʜʀᴀsᴇ "Lɪᴏɴ Lɪᴄᴋᴇʀs". 

Tʜɪs ɪs ᴀ ᴛᴇsᴛ ᴛᴏ sᴇᴇ ɪғ ᴄᴇʀᴛᴀɪɴ ᴇxᴏᴛɪᴄ ᴛᴇxᴛ ᴄᴀɴ sᴛɪʟʟ ᴛʀᴀɴsʟᴀᴛᴇ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ sᴄʀᴇᴇɴ ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀs.

**TEST 2**

ᴵᶠ ʸᵒᵘ ᶜᵃⁿ ʳᵉᵃᵈ ᵗʰᶦˢ ᵒⁿ ᵃ ˢᶜʳᵉᵉⁿʳᵉᵃᵈᵉʳ, ᵖˡᵉᵃˢᵉ ᶜᵒᵐᵐᵉⁿᵗ "ᴰᶦᵃᵐᵒⁿᵈ ᴮʳᵃᶦⁿ."

**TEST 3**

ᵢ𝒻 ᵧₒᵤ 𝒸ₐₙ ᵣₑₐ𝒹 ₜₕᵢₛ ₒₙ ₐ ₛ𝒸ᵣₑₑₙᵣₑₐ𝒹ₑᵣ, ₚₗₑₐₛₑ 𝒸ₒₘₘₑₙₜ "Dᵤₘᵦ ₚᵤₚₚᵧ".


	79. Art- The Overseer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bismuth! I really liked her look from the _Bismuth Casual_ episode, so I kept the half-tied hair and white shirt. I also brought back the waist down portion of her second form's apron and made sure to keep her brand design on her shirt sleeve.
> 
> Bismuth is only in Az's height range, so Connor is taller than her, but she is still insanely broad. I also gave her Very big teeth because it's what she deserves.
> 
> Ever since Steven retired from running Little Homeworld, Bismuth has been the colonial overseer for Earth. She intended to only hold the position until she was voted out, but that never happened- she keeps getting re-elected because she's a famous war hero and a ranking active Crystal Gem.


	80. Art- Althea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lars fangs for the _Stonefang_ collection. If you want to Acquire this as masks, phone cases, or stickers, you can find links to the Redbubble on my twitter.


	81. Art- Riband

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jasper InspiredTM fangs are now available in the _Stonefang_ collection.


	82. Art- A3 Polyam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another FADIAMT polyam meme drawing has been sponsored! Details can be found on my discord or twitter.


	83. Art- Chimera

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made a Carnelian design on a whim. Naturally it was more Difficult then I originally anticipated but I went through with it anyway because she deserves the effort. I kind of gave her teeth the gapped layout of herbivores and the clustering was a little based on snails, honestly.
> 
> If you'd like to support this series and its creators, or just think these designs are Cool And Good, I highly recommend you go through the Redbubble store or look on my Twitter for other ways to support the effort.


	84. Illustrated Meta- Wedding Armored

A member of the art request tiers of my patrons requested what Connie looked like for the Battle of New York, which was a perfect excuse to draw Connie's armor as well as the Bride's Blade.

This is the armor she wears in all Armor Worthy Occasions, and it's also the armor that was made for her wedding.

I based the color palette and filigree off of one of the Steven Universe comic covers, which features a heraldic drawing of a knightly Connie.

The rosette on her left pauldron is a direct parallel of the Crystal Gem star that's part of the tattoo sleeve on her shoulder, and there's a blatant star on the collar of her gorget. There's pink chainmail on her arms, under her gloves and pauldrons.

As for the bursting flower design on her belly, I imagined her armor would have a "trick" to it in the event that she fused with Steven while wearing it. The flower design would probably warp and expand to accommodate for his gem. The patterning of leaves and petals does intentionally resemble an animalistic face- y'know, like a Lion.

Her kneepads have a rosebud design, and the edges of her shoes and gloves have scale-like, or rather _leaflike_ designs. 

She's got a nice blue skirt, and it _is_ armored as well- armored skirt designs were a common aspect of real traditional armors, as it was better for retaining leg mobility and horse-riding.

I drew this on a Discord livestream, and the viewers got to vote for what hairstyle she was wearing. We ended up going with a poofy bun like the kind she wore in Season 5 a few times.

You may notice I've been drawing her face steadily sharper, which I'm doing as a sign of her aging. She's taking after her mother in that regard, but her chin still has a flat edge like her dad's.

Now onto the Bride's Blade.

> _A stately zweihänder, bearing the same rosy metal and blue rainguard as the one she wielded now. The handle is purple, just as before- but where there was a simple hilt on her old shortsword, this one is a swirling, gilded basket hilt that curled in on itself like the weave of thorns._

Yes, it's tall. To be honest, this is pretty toned down for a zweihander. There have been many zweihanders taller than their wielders, and the fact that the Bride's Blade _merely_ stops at her shoulder is almost humble. The handle is Stupid long, which is because it's a two handed sword, or at least balanced to act as one.

She's dressed to kill. As she deserves.

-Aenor


	85. Illustrated Meta- Professor

I was Once Again commissioned with a request for Prof Oliver, and who am I if not a servant of the people.

With Az for scale, we've got Prof, Bruce, and Hulk in a lineup.

Something I noticed about the Hulk visually is that his hair and eyes also have olive tones, not just the skin. I thought that was pretty neat, and it definitely makes sense, seeing as there's green pigmentation in his blood and skin.

Hulk isn't antisocial but he's easily overstimulated, so he likes to wear less clothes and generally Not interact with people except in limited amounts. Hulk would deliberately wear ripped pants to be punk, and likes the texture of old/frayed clothes. Bruce hates this. Which is exactly why Hulk will keep doing it.

(Wait until Hulk figures out men can wear skirts. He'll refuse to wear anything else.)

Bruce looks tired and vaguely sick- because he is. If Oliver is forced to revert to Bruce, that's not exactly a good thing. It's physically and mentally draining to switch between the two forms, and without the energy that the bigger form provides, the overall "condition" of the system deteriorates. Oliver would only revert to Bruce in a bad state and he'd be functionally sick the whole time until he fuses back. Bruce is the one who will drift to more formal clothes, because Bruce is the only form that _can_ wear them.

Oliver wears comfortable, loose, and easy to wear clothes, mostly because Hulk doesn't have the patience/dexterity for more complex and restrictive clothes. He also doesn't want to wear shoes, but he'll wear stirrup socks as a compromise. His clothes are neat, but heavy and scratchy.

Oliver is wearing reading glasses because with his Stupid Huge eyes it's harder to see human sized text.

He also wears a hearing aid on his left ear- Mark Ruffalo, the MCU actor for Bruce Banner/Hulk, is deaf on his left ear due to damage from a treated brain tumor, so I'll consider that an aspect of his MCU character.

Oliver lowkey looks like a tired dad which honestly? Correct. That's the vibe.

-Aenor


	86. Art- A2 Polyam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The polyam commissioned drawing challenge continues to go on. There's still slots open.


	87. Art- D3 Polyam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone asked for something a little different this time, they wanted the three to wear cowboy pride hats!


	88. Art- I Fully Intend To Threaten You With A Good Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Connor has new clothes now that the jig is up and he can't play "Crimson Carbide" anymore. The higher collar of his shirt and the braces he wears on his wrists conveniently cover up much of his Gem scarring (though do nothing for the human scarring on his face), and this is intentional on his part. His thornlike scarring is mobile and sensitive so it's not entirely practical to keep them out and exposed, especially anticipating how much more he'll have to interact with people.
> 
> He's wearing a vest and shirt like Az does now! He's vibing after his ~~dad~~ Fellow Diamond(TM), however unintentionally.
> 
> Gems are shown to take visual cues from people they like or see as dominant, so Connor is taking visual cues from Az with his new clothes aesthetic (the shirt/vest combo, the diamond opening on his sash), and Thor with the wrist braces. Even his longer hair in a ponytail was from Connie.
> 
> You might notice that Connor's gem appears to be larger than Az's? This is an illusion caused by how much smaller Connor's waist is compared to Az. His waist-to-barrel ratio is more drastic- he and Thor have about the same waist size even though he's otherwise so much bigger.


	89. Art- You Look Like You Hate It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided Thor deserved a dedicated drawing. Here he is on his call with Connor from _Prodigal Suns_.
> 
> His hair is back to its natural color ever since Connor Ruined his dye job by healing his injuries, and Sif convinced him to keep it that way. He's wearing the mail and cloak from his usual armor- it's the only pieces he can still wear on the day-to-day and he likes the security of it. 
> 
> As I've said, he's very pale and cloudy in a sort of marble stone way. This extends to his scars- he doesn't have many thanks to his high durability, but his hands are pretty battered from point blank exposure to Mjolnir's precision channeling of his lightning.
> 
> Also. He's wearing eyeliner.  
> Fun fact- while little archeological evidence has been found, primary sources from Arabic traders mention both men and women wearing some form of eyeliner/mascara, including warriors- some suspect the Norse practice might have originated in warriors as a form of eye black to reduce glare from the sun. You heard it here, lads, makeup is manly military wear.
> 
> So yes, while I've definitely shown Asgard as being kind of backwards and sexist, here's your reminder that their concepts of gender boundaries/dress code aren't contemporary human ones.


	90. Art- Obsidian Temple

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Polished down to a smooth, darker tone, its cracks gilded with burning veins of gold and orange like the lava in its crystal heart. Its arms are restored with new, graceful hands, old former wreckage left along the beach like a morbid chrysalis, as though it had used the great stone sword resting sideways on the shore as a crude hacksaw upon the moss-ridden, unsalvagable parts of itself. Where the old temple had once seemed always ready to disappear into the cliffside, this new, fully restored one rested at attention- like at any moment it could simply awaken and break free of the mountain it slept in, picking up its sword to vanish into myth forever._
> 
> _For now though, it seemed content to rest on its laurels, a well tended garden of flowers nested along the curling slope of its hair despite the winter, looming an eternal, watchful shadow to the house of a Diamond._
> 
> _The angular, ever changing wooden house sits in its hands like a child's toy. The dichotomy is almost cute._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little drawing of the FADIAMT Obsidian Temple and the beach house. It's been restored to more resemble Obsidian 2.0 rather than the Rose-era Obsidian. Other than that, some additions:  
> -There's a gazebo on the laundry hand now. Himbos can no longer (accidentally) fall off of the laundry hand.  
> -The crawlspace under the house has been opened up and now it's a proper garage for the Dondai and the van. It does not have a garage door, there's just a big curtain.  
> -Now there's a little parking space for Az's palanquin. There's also stairs that go to it from the main house but they are Hidden by the cliffy nonsense in front of the house.  
> -The pearl and amethyst gems are a bit exaggerated in size, and this is because those bad boys are docking bays for ships! Get a little tractor beam going to store them inside. That's where the _Tamarai_ is stored when Az is home and not using it.
> 
> Over time the cliffside will become more overgrown, this is inevitable since Az spends alot of time there.


	91. Art- Bone Thieves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A patron asked me to draw Dipper and Jives stealing bones from the arachnimorph cave in _Hole Puncher_. So here's the first official art of Dipper! Jives the undead owl was created and designed by Falrisesi, whose original reference art was used to draw Jives here. Spooky night colored owl friend. He's got a Big Dipper mark on his head just like Dipper does!
> 
> I have an additional question for screenreader users and the vision/reading impaired, who need image descriptions on pictures provided for the series. In the event that map images are made, how should we go about it? Should we simply note that it's a map of a certain area? What kind of image descriptions would you want for a map?


	92. Art- Jives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -by Falrisesi
> 
> These are the original Jives sketches! Parts of his skull and chest are eroded to the bone due to damage but he's still good. He has Tiny Glasses, for reasons unknown ~~Mabel thought it was cute~~.
> 
> Don't mind the fact that he has teeth. Or glowing cavernous eyes that occasionally slit like a snake. It's Fine _:)_


	93. Art- Jovis Idonea Virgilio

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -by Falrisesi
> 
> Another one of the original concepts for Jives! We had an idea that familiars, by partially feeding off their caster's magic, could take on alternate forms for more... aggressive purposes.
> 
> In this larger form, his Big Dipper mark is more visible.


	94. Picture- I Think Marrow Pie Is Neat Do You Think Marrow Pie Is Neat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you're wondering what the "marrow pie" from Thor's wedding is. It's a real dish where a sliced beef bone (usually a leg bone) is seasoned and stuck into the center of a small meat pie, and baked that way. The bone is wide enough that the marrow can be eaten with a spoon.
> 
> Yes, marrow is edible. Usually pork, goat, sheep, and beef are the common marrow bones used in cooking- animals with smaller and thinner bones, like birds, mostly just have iron-rich marrow that isn't as good for cooking. The most common use of bone marrow is for broth and stock, but if the bone is cut into small enough pieces the marrow can be eaten (my favorite marrow dish is a slow cooked goat stew, goes great with noodles).
> 
> Good marrow tastes fatty and almost buttery, and actually can be rendered into a butter substitute for dairy-free diets. It's very nutrient rich!
> 
> I don't know why I devoted an entire chapter to bone marrow. Quarantine must have finally gotten to me.


	95. Art- Trespasser

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -by Jay
> 
> Loki's dress at the coronation party. A number of outfits were designed on various characters for the coronation but Loki's was the only one that really came up in writing. If y'all are interested I can release the other art that was made.  
> -Aenor


	96. Art- It's Beautiful And It's Yours

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Az's shield, first described outright in _But You Were Hers_.
> 
> The rose in his shield is a _rose of Sharon_ , aka a hibiscus. Something that is not a true rose but carries the same poetic spirit. The pentagon inside the flower is an inversion of the pentagon on his gem- this is in fact deliberate. (Don't worry about it.)
> 
> I pulled from Rose's original shield for lining and coloring the flower, but the green of the leaves is pulled from the colors of Jasper's corruption scars. In spite of everything between them, Az ultimately associates Jasper with not only fighting, but loyalty, protection, _safety._ So her colors made it onto his shield. The large five petaled flower also calls back slightly to the flower on Connie's armor.


	97. Art- Mabel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Mabel! I didn't really put a lot of thought into making her that pretty or cute, because that's... kind of not the point of Mabel? I never got the sense that she was supposed to be pretty. She's a pre-puberty 12 year old girl in braces who goes out of her way to wear nacho earrings and sweaters so big they cover her hands. I'm not saying she's ugly, but she's more focused on looking fun than looking good, which I like about her character.


	98. :)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)

**Author's Note:**

> This isn't complete, but it may only update sporadically since it's not. An Actual Fic


End file.
